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The art of science

If schools place the arts and sciences in separate silos, how will students learn to appreciate the need for imagination and personal creativity in science? Joe Humphreys talks to Tom McLeish.

The idea that science and the humanities are separate, non-overlapping spheres of learning is widely assumed. There are “two cultures”, we are told, each with its own set of methods and values.

It’s a division that has been reinforced by workplace specialisation and the creation of educational silos in schools and colleges.

Tom McLeish was horrified to discover how deep the rift had become when he met groups of secondary-school students in the UK in his role as a visiting university speaker. Many of them were clearly very bright, he said, but had nonetheless dropped all science subjects, as well as maths, before they had turned 17 (indeed 85 per cent of all students in England give up maths at 16)... Keep reading on The Irish Times